Chemical-free traction mat glue removal (Pink Eraser)

[CrankyGypsy]

I finally got around to complete removal of my old mats and glue. I was strangely reluctant to do anything that would dull/remove the sand-like traction. frustrated, I decided if it was totally smooth at the end, it wouldn't matter to me.

I went ahead and used a torch to heat a metal joint knife (drywall spreader). I got it under the mat and it cut almost like butter compared to other methods ...really thick, hard butter. I then went back over it all again the same way to lift the larger remnants (the difference between pic 2 and 3 below). with most of the glue up and doing about two square feet at a time, I laid a single layer of paper towels over the scraped areas. I moistened these paper towels with 3M General Purpose Adhesive Cleaner and covered this all with tin foil to prevent evaporation. I added a wooden board to keep it from blowing away and ensure contact of the cleaner, then let that sit for 10mins. this allowed me to use the spreader and a cotton towel to get most of the remaining adhesive up very easily. for the last bits and most stubborn of the glue, I resorted to about a half gallon of acetone: being liberal with it, I doused a small section at a time (evaporation is the enemy), scrubbed with a stiff upholstery/carpet brush then quickly following that with an acetone-dampened rag.



I would recommend some heavy duty gloves for acetone portion - I was luckily able to acquire a single pair of Viton gloves, which are not cheap nor easy to locate (sorry, I have no recommendations on getting a pair for yourself). with it done, the stock sand-grit traction looks pretty much 98% intact, so my earlier worries were totally unwarranted. and actually, if I were to sand it all down, and polish it back out, it would make future removal much easier.

 

[I_squared_r]

I finally got around to complete removal of my old mats and glue. I was strangely reluctant to do anything that would dull/remove the sand-like traction. frustrated, I decided if it was totally smooth at the end, it wouldn't matter to me.

I went ahead and used a torch to heat a metal joint knife (drywall spreader). I got it under the mat and it cut almost like butter compared to other methods ...really thick, hard butter. I then went back over it all again the same way to lift the larger remnants (the difference between pic 2 and 3 below). with most of the glue up and doing about two square feet at a time, I laid a single layer of paper towels over the scraped areas. I moistened these paper towels with 3M General Purpose Adhesive Cleaner and covered this all with tin foil to prevent evaporation. I added a wooden board to keep it from blowing away and ensure contact of the cleaner, then let that sit for 10mins. this allowed me to use the spreader and a cotton towel to get most of the remaining adhesive up very easily. for the last bits and most stubborn of the glue, I resorted to about a half gallon of acetone: being liberal with it, I doused a small section at a time (evaporation is the enemy), scrubbed with a stiff upholstery/carpet brush then quickly following that with an acetone-dampened rag.

View attachment 90920View attachment 90921View attachment 90922View attachment 90923

I would recommend some heavy duty gloves for acetone portion - I was luckily able to acquire a single pair of Viton gloves, which are not cheap nor easy to locate (sorry, I have no recommendations on getting a pair for yourself). with it done, the stock sand-grit traction looks pretty much 98% intact, so my earlier worries were totally unwarranted. and actually, if I were to sand it all down, and polish it back out, it would make future removal much easier.

I did the drywall spreader and torch method on all my jet ski and boat. Next time try motorcycle chain degreaser to get the remaining adhesive. That stuff eats the remaining adhesive and doesn't evaporate. After about 10 minutes, the stuff falls off with a razor blade.

 

[CrankyGypsy]

motorcycle chain degreaser

I tried WD-40, which did nothing. could you be more specific?

 

[I_squared_r]

I tried WD-40, which did nothing. could you be more specific?

WD-40 chain degreaser? I googled that and I see that it's a bike chain degreaser. I used the motorcycle stuff so maybe it's more potent and I think the brand was Motul

 

[mdwarchichoke]

I got so lucky, mine came up easy left a few spots of old hydroturf and that was it. I used a plastic scrapper and goof off to get that off. I also took mine off why it was still cold outside, so maybe that kept the mess a little smaller. It does take some force to get it to peel up!

 

[Chip F.]

@MBalducci1990 - I used spray nine Grez Off . Thanks for the tip. I started this last fall and was dreading finishing it. Sprayed it on and let it sit for 10 minutes and it came off like a breeze with a putty knife.

 

[I_squared_r]

@MBalducci1990 - I used spray nine Grez Off . Thanks for the tip. I started this last fall and was dreading finishing it. Sprayed it on and let it sit for 10 minutes and it came off like a breeze with a putty knife.

Nice. It's a hard job for sure and took me about a month with an hour here and there. I think that the degreasers leave a residue and you should wipe everything down with acetone before putting the new mats on. Or could just be my OCD.

 

[jdonalds]

I used this one from Napa.View attachment 86433

Thank you, thank you, thank you. I was having a miserable time removing the swim deck mat. This is the second time I've replaced the mat, the first lasted 7 years, this time 6 years. I well remember the arduous task it was the first time and it seems to be worse this time.

From my first mat removal I remember trying a range of products, settling on Goof Off as the most effective. I even tried using ice water to see if that would help by having the glue come off with the mat as I pulled but no such luck. Nothing eased the task. The worst part isn't the remaining glue but rather the remaining black mat material. But Goof Off only goes so far. I was only able to cleanly remove a patch of about 8" x 8" each hour, and that with a great deal of muscle behind the scrubbing. But that changed today when the eraser wheel arrived from Amazon.

This is not a magic fix - but it feels like it. Having removed both the black mat material and the glue on a 1' x 1' area I'm now anxious to tackle the upper swim deck step which is the larger portion.

I very much appreciate those who have contributed to the solution, but the drill mounted eraser wheel is by far the best thing I've used. Thanks a lot.

ABN Rubber Eraser Wheel 4in Pad & Adapter 1-Pack - Pinstripe, Adhesive Remover, Vinyl Decal, Graphics Removal Tool - - Amazon.com

 

[jdonalds]

I have the original carpet in our 2006 SX210 which still looks good. After having to remove the swim deck pad there is no way I'd put Sea Deck in the cockpit. I can't imagine the task of removing all of that pad when it gets old. I'll stick with carpet and snaps.